Sacred Contracts: Why I Choose Them Over New Year’s Resolutions

As we are heading into the middle of January (already), it’s so interesting to me the conversations we have around how we are going to “own the year” and that this is the “year of
YOU” … or, better yet, how it’s going to be a “New Year, New You” kind of thing.

And, what I have found over years of working on myself (lots of work on myself), and coaching
hundreds of others, is that this mindset doesn’t really work. That these, often lofty, goals we set for ourselves actually set us up for failure rather than success.

I mean, it’s great to prime the tank for a moment, to rally around how we are going to be better, how we are going to show up … yet, once the rah rah excitement wears off, then what?

Declarations like these tend to fall flat.

Why, you might ask.

Because there is no real commitment or investment into why. No connection in why it really
matters for you. We aim high, set huge goals, and try to go from 0 to 100 in one fell swoop. We are missing the realness, the grit, the little details that matter.

For when we set New Year’s resolutions, we immediately give ourselves an out. Think about it
… we know already on some level that we are not going to hit those targets. Our history has
proven that to us time and time again.

We tell ourselves every year: “This is the year I will … (enter the blank).” This is the year I will
lose weight, or get healthy, or run 5 miles every day. This is the year I will save more, make
more, show up as more.

Yet, what’s missing is what actually the “more” is.

Why does it matter? Not, why does it matter to social media, or the peanut gallery … but, why
does it matter to YOU? How does this help you be more of who you are? How does this allow
you access to greater joy, fulfillment, impact?

A goal for the sake of a goal is no better than being busy for the sake of being busy. When we
don’t know why we are investing in something, or what the return is we want on the other side, the action becomes futile … and, we disengage. Our focus wanes and our resentment
increases until we reach the point of exasperation and just give up.

What if, instead of stacking the deck against yourself, you choose to invest more wisely. What
if you took time to ask yourself: “What is my next level? How can I expand into becoming more
of who I already am? How can I live in the fullness of my purpose more?

How can I be more of me and expand into the “who” I am becoming?

It starts with creating sacred contracts for yourself, and with yourself, that connected to your
compelling why. For a sacred contract is a promise, not a goal, that you commit to yourself
about how you are choose to show up, how you choose to serve others, and how you choose
to take personal responsibility inside those two spaces.

For establishing sacred contracts with yourself is an act of leadership. It’s an alignment to your own integrity, and that which you deem to be most important. This promise, this commitment you make to yourself creates the pathway for discipline and habits that matter to you. For your work, the consistent activity within your daily routine takes on a whole new energy.

When creating sacred contract, you awaken your own unlimited and abundant divine
potential.

You then can declare:

“I am a powerful child of God, here to serve, to shine. In establishing this sacred contract for myself, I acknowledge the divine within me, and I honor the gifts, talent and potential I possess. I am choosing of my own accord to step forward into my next level so that I can create greater impact. I stand in integrity of who I am, and all that I am becoming as I bring these promises to life. I am committed to aligning my daily practices to these sacred contracts to bring the best of me forward.”

For through your sacred contracts you are able to fully tap into your personal and spiritual
power. As leaders and light warriors, this is our opportunity. Sacred contracts create an imprint on your soul, documenting the language to propel you forward.

When the alignment of what’s in your soul is called forward, you will find you become inspired
in the action required of you to live these truths. This is far more powerful than simply stating
some bold resolutions at the beginning of the year.

These promises become the embodiment of who you are.

For a sacred contract is a personal promise you make to yourself, no one else. It also is
not something you take or make lightly. A sacred contract has real meaning, real power.
A sacred contract is you standing in my own integrity, and connecting to your higher level
consciousness.

So, what sacred contracts are you establishing for yourself?